Feb. 16, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After averaging 36.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in a pair of games, senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) of the UCF men's basketball team earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors Monday. An All-America candidate, Taylor ranks fifth nationally in scoring at 25.0 points per game.
On Saturday, he led the Knights to a 74-72 victory over visiting Tulsa after UCF trailed by 17 points with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. Taylor totaled 22 of his 35 points after intermission. After Tulsa went up 56-39 with 10:36 to play, Taylor nailed three 3-pointers and scored 16 points during a 32-11 UCF run. Against the Golden Hurricane, he shot 10-of-21 overall, 5-of-11 from deep and 10-of-12 at the line. The 6-foot-4 Taylor also added seven boards.
He began the week by recording 38 points in only 33 minutes at UTEP. The 38 points matched a career high. Taylor connected on 13-of-22 shots versus the Miners. He hit four triples and went 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. Taylor also grabbed six rebounds.
During the week, Taylor shot 53.5 percent overall, 42.9 percent from 3-point range and 85.7 percent at the free-throw line.
The honor is the fourth C-USA Player of the Week award for Taylor in 2008-09 and the sixth of his career.
Against Tulsa, Taylor became UCF's career scoring leader at the Division I level. He has recorded 1,791 points as a Knight. He also moved into eighth on the C-USA career scoring register.
This year, Taylor has led UCF in scoring in 24 of the team's 25 games. He has posted seven 30-point showings. In league play, he is averaging 26.6 points.
Taylor and the Knights are slated to return to action Saturday at Houston. The squad's next home contest at the UCF Arena is Wednesday, Feb. 25, versus Rice at 7 p.m.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.